Each weekday on this blog you will find an episode of a western short story featuring Rance Dehner, a detective who operates in the old West. When the story concludes, it will be archived for those readers who prefer to read a story from start to finish.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

New to These Parts ? To Start the Story from the Beginning,clickSave the Girl! 1

Episode Nineteen of Save the Girl!

Episode Eighteen concluded with:

The woman returned to the table and her two
companions. “Let’s eat and give Mr. Dehner a little time for meditation.”

Harry laughed again, but Philip Richardson
looked irritated. Jerri Mae smirked inwardly. Richardson was actually jealous
of her kissing Dehner, even though he thought she was doing it to help him, and
even though he knew that at the Big Diamond she…

Men are fools, Jerri Mae thought to herself once
again.

The woman put out the plates and food. The three
sat down to eat. Jerri Mae was pleased when Harry sat with his back to Dehner.
No such luck with Richardson, who sat across from Harry where he could see the
detective. He smiled mockingly at Dehner as he poured a glass of wine and then
lifted it up, as if toasting the detective.

Episode Nineteen:

The
woman also watched Dehner. He was working the knife against the rope slowly
without betraying himself with body movements. After several minutes, She saw
that his eyes were fixed on the six shooter strapped to Harry’s waist. The
detective then glanced at her. She hoped she got the message right. His hands
were free but he still needed help in grabbing that weapon.

Jerri
Mae smiled at Harry. “Do you get lonesome in Alcott?”

Harry
was surprised by the question, but it was a good surprise. “I’ve been keeping
pretty busy since I arrived here.”

Jerri
turned up the smile a bit. “Yes, but I bet you had plenty of female friends
back in Dallas. Don’t you miss the attention?”

Harry
laughed as his eyes gave the woman an appreciative look. “Sure, I get
lonesome.”

Philip
had heard enough. He glared at Jerri Mae. “As soon as we are finished eating,
you need to get back--”

Both
men were now looking directly at Jerri Mae. Dehner leapt from the chair and ran
at Harry. His footsteps wavered but were still fast.

“Look
out!” Richardson stood up and went for his gun.

Dehner
slipped Harry’s Colt from its holster and fired. Richardson yelled and
collapsed to the floor. Harry tackled Dehner and the two men hit the floor as
the henchman tried to wrestle his gun back. Harry managed to get on top of the
detective. Dehner fired again; Harry’s body jerked backwards then fell onto
Dehner.

Rance
breathed hard. He had absorbed a beating and felt weak. He inhaled and then
pushed off Harry’s corpse. As he did, he could hear Jerri Mae talking to Philip
Richardson.

He
turned and saw that the woman had Philip’s arm around her shoulder and was helping
him up. “Rest in the chair for a few minutes sweetheart, then we’ll get you to
a doctor.”

Philip
still held a gun in his hand but kept it pointed at the floor. He watched
Dehner getting up and noticed the detective was also holding a weapon.

Richardson
went quiet for a moment, as if piecing together what had just happened. “You
helped the detective, didn’t you Jerri Mae?”

Richarson
sent two bullets into the woman. Jerri Mae spun and fell against the table,
knocking it over and loudly scattering its contents over the floor. Dehner
fired at Richardson who slammed against the back of the chair. The chair
teetered. Richardson dropped to the
floor.

Stepping
on shards of broken plates, Rance staggered over to where Jerri Mae lay on the
floor and bent over her. “Thank you, Jerri Mae. You saved my life.”

“I
owed you, cowboy. I’m the one who got you into this mess. Did it for love.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
think Phil loved me. I loved him. Couldn’t let him become a killer. Did you
know I was his first girl?”

“No.”

A
look of happiness, or something close to it came into the woman’s face as she
pulled up one of her few happy memories. “Was nine years ago. I was sixteen.
Phil brought me to Alcott. I was the star of the first show ever in the Emerald
Theater.”

The
woman suddenly appeared horrified. “Maybe Phil didn’t love me. How could he
love me, he--”

Rance
placed a finger on her lips. “Love can be a very strange thing,” he said
softly. “And remember, all men are fools.”

Jerri
Mae gave a wistful smile. She lifted one hand and stroked Dehner’s face. “Not
all men,” she said. The hand went down and her eyes closed.

Rance
Dehner slowly stood up. He felt empty and unable to handle the tasks that were
in front of him. He made his way onto the porch of the cabin and sat there for
a couple of hours as the sun came up. The morning turned warm but he still felt
cold and empty inside.

The Posse

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Bio

As a kid, I idolized Hopalong Cassidy, which was the most intelligent choice I made during my first thirty years. Much of my professional life has been spent as a literary agent, but I also wrote westerns to prove I didn’t always have to live off the work of other people.
I can now devote myself full time to writing in a genre I love. I’m being a straight shooter when I say your opinion is important to me. When you have a moment, let me know what you think about Wild West Detective. Alas, the western genre has been riding over some tough territory for several decades. I hope this site can bring new folks into the corral and give them a taste of the fun that the western has given me.
jamesclay20@gmail.com